Major scientific discovery reveals girls dominated Britain 2,000 years in the past
DNA evidence suggests that Celtic women held held significant positions and political, military and social influence and enforce Roman tales of warrior queens on the isles
New 2000-year-old DNA evidence suggests that it was the Celtic women who really ran prehistoric Britain.
Tales of prehistoric warriors such as Boudica and Cartimandua have always captured the imagination of the British public. However, many have argued just how much prominence in society women had in prehistoric Britain.
In a recent study researchers analysed the levels of diversity in mitochondria DNA from 55 individuals from a Durotrigian burial site in Winterborne Kingston – coupled with two others from nearby cemeteries.
Dr Lara Cassidy explained: “We constructed a family tree with many different tree branches and found most members traced their material lineage back to a single woman, who would have lived centuries before.”
However, evidence of high Y-level chromosome diversity was observed amongst the men. This suggested: “In contrast, relationships through the father’s line were almost absent,”
This tells us that husbands moved to join their wives’ communities upon marriage, with land potentially passed down through the female line and implied women held significant positions and political, military and social influence.
This arrangement is known as matrilocality and contrasts what was believed to be the prehistoric norm, patrilocal societies. The evidence shows us that husbands would move to join and integrate into their wives’ community upon marriage and it indicates land was potentially passed down through the female line.
Dr Cassidy highlighted: “This is the first time this type of system has been documented in European prehistory and it predicts female social and political empowerment,”
Researchers went on to examine genomes from 156 cemeteries across Europe from the Neolithic age to the Iron Age to try to find more evidence of matrilocal societies. Surprisingly, they were able to find evidence of six different matriline societies all from Iron Age England.
One dominant matriline had been established before 400 BC and researchers have said these societies were a widespread phenomenon on the island.
This research brings things full circle and only reinforces accounts made by the likes of Julius Caesar and other Roman authors that the earliest British rulers were women like the warrior queens Boudica and Cartimandua.
Dr Miles Russell, the excavation director behind the study, explained that some had suggested that the Romans had exaggerated the liberties of British women to curate an image of an untamed society.
“But archaeology, and now genetics, implies women were influential in many spheres of Iron Age life. ”
